Recommended By Curators

January 31

It's common knowledge that Natural Selection 2 has no bugs, issues, or problems.* It has never had any bugs. Ever. Fact. Full stop. Ok, maybe a few... And maybe Update 273 had a few too many. Some say that Onoses (Onii? Onosii?) were very upset by seriousr problems with their damage type.

Never fear though, Update 274 has arrived quickly from the Community Development Team, and it addresses some major issues that crept into the game in 273! Enjoy!

January 22

Natural Selection 2 has just received its first update for 2015, courtesy of the Community Development Team. Read all the details in their release blog post!

Changelog

ImprovementAdded ability to click on a player’s row in the scoreboard to check their Steam/Hive profiles
Added option to mute Text chat
Added icon to the scoreboard indicating if someone is your friend on Steam
Made it so the scoreboard shortens the player name if it overlaps
Muting a player’s voice/text chat will last 6 hours so it’s persistent across map changes
Rookies will always show the “(rookie)” tag in chat even if they’re not in your own team
Spectators are now sorted above ReadyRoom players
Dropping structures as a Marine Commander will display the location name and status of the Power Node for the structure
Missing files will now show up in the log instead of being silently ignored
Added a new variant of Alien Vision based on Huzes’ AV – Thanks Huze!
Added no_ip material which disallows placement of Infantry Portals on this surface
Added a separate bind for movement override for commander
Added consistency checking for hmp files

FixesStop sounds from playing on destroyed entities
Stop Insert from running destructors on uninitialized memory
Linux should now support non-ascii
Fixed being able to tell who’s the enemy Commander by their chat color
Fixed that commanders bots did not work or got kicked by the AFK kick
Fixed that the Alien Buy-Menu messed up with some translations (e.g. Russian)
Fixed embryos not having a taunt in the ready room
Fixed Babblers being invisible when cloaked by a shade
Fixed menu being unresponsive if mousing over webview while a window was loading
Fixed sending blank chat messages causing messages to overlap
Fixed being able to place an IP in eclipse where you shouldn’t be able to

SteamPrototype – Added Utils\WorkshopBackup, a simple server to allow servers ops to add backup download for mods. See ns2\utils\workshopbackup\readme.txt for details.
Added support for servers to point clients to a list of backup servers and clients to download from backup instead of Steam
Backup servers also solves the problem of the server running an old version of a mod
Fixed bug that required all http request to finish inside 15 seconds
Made clients more stubborn when it comes to requesting downloading mods (10 retries)
Improved progress reporting

PerformanceRelevance calculation offloaded from main server thread, freeing up about 5-15% main thread CPU. It is now recommended to run the server on at least 2 cores.
Servers running close to the edge will now show up as Loaded in the performance browser

Known IssueThe progress indication on mod download is broken – it stays zero until download complete. Late build blocker forced a revert, should be fixed in 274

Reviews

"NS2 is a genius mash of Counter Strike and Starcraft"
– Kotaku"This is getting close to my idea of the ultimate game"
– Machinima

Strategy Meets Shooter

Natural Selection 2 is a First Person Shooter and Real Time Stategy game rolled into one! Each team, alien and human, has a Commander. The Commander looks down on the battlefield and issues orders, places structures, collects resources, researches technology, and deploys abilities.

Here's some gameplay examples: A human Commander could drop health packs and ammunition to a trapped marine squad, and deploy sentry guns to help them defend their position. Or an alien Commander could grow a new Hive to spread infestation throughout newly captured territory, allowing more alien eggs to spawn...

Two Unique Sides

Aliens players choose to evolve into one of five lifeforms: The fast, fearsome Skulk can run on walls and deliver massive damage with is jaws. Lerks fly and deploy gasses to support their teammates in battle. Gorges heal other lifeforms and build tunnels, hydra turrets, walls, and other tactical structures. Fades blink in and out of battle, picking off marines with giant scythes. Finally, the giant Onos is so massive and so tough, that even entire marine squads can't take it down.

Marines wield rifles, shotguns, grenade launchers, pistols, and other weapons. Cluster grenades can clear ventilation shafts of sneaky Skulks, flamethrowers make short work of alien structures and infestation, and boosts dropped by the commander Commander like nano-shields and catalyst packs increase combat effectiveness.

When attacking on foot doesn't cut it, marines can construct hulking Exosuits wielding miniguns and railguns, and equip jetpacks for high speed assaults on alien Hives.

Long Term Development

Natural Selection 2 receives constant updates. This year (2014), it has received a major update, on average, once per month! These updates are created by the Community Development Team, supported by Unknown Worlds.

Mod Tools Come Standard

Natural Selection 2 comes with all the tools we used to make the game. All game code is open source. That means you can create, and play, an endless variety of mods. Publish, share, and download mods from the Steam Workshop, and automatically download mods when you join modded games.

Digital Deluxe Edition

Digital Deluxe Edition includes:

Official Soundtrack - 1 hour of tribal, industrial music composed by David John and Simon Chylinski
Digital Art Book - 40+ pages of art by Cory Strader, including environments, creatures, weapons and more
Exclusive Wallpapers and Avatars - Unique views of the NS2 universe by artist Rantology
Exclusive in-game marine model - A new marine model with custom visor and armor plating

About This Game

Natural Selection 2 pits alien against human in an action-packed struggle for survival. Wield devastating weaponry as a Frontiesman marine, or become the xenomorph as a deadly. Kharaa life-form. While both teams fight each other in first person, two commanders look down on the battlefield in a top-down Real Time Strategy view. These Commanders can issue orders, build structures, collect resources, research technology, and deploy abilities to help their team overcome the enemy.

It is unfortunate that in today's world despite the astounding technological advancements there are few games that actually surprise you with their novelty and innovation when putting this new arsenal of potential to use. However, Natural Selection 2 is twice as surprising in this regard as it innovates not in one, but two genres simultaneously.

The concept of an FPS/RTS hybrid has been around for quite some time though never properly executed by any major title in gaming. This has always puzzled me as there is no greater satisfaction than seeing a game unfold from both the perspective of an overarching command and the boots on the ground itself. While Natural Selection 2 is a purely multiplayer experience it excels in bring new exciting gameplay to the stagnating genre of first person shooters, most of which have simply resorted to throw bigger guns, toys, and vehicles at you. Instead Natural Selection 2 recognizes the strengths of its predecessors innovative gameplay and polishes it to make an impressive new clean-cut version of a game every gamer should try at least once.

While this game truly shines because of its innovation and creativity it does not spare any expense on its presentation either as all the character and alien models are fantastic and really brought to life by the dynamic lighting, sounds, and overall atmosphere that is simply blooming in this games thematic atmospheres.

The first thing I noticed jumping into a lobby of NS2 is that cooperation between teammates is not only recommended but essentially necessary. This is absolutely phenomenal! There are too few games in this is online gaming world that actually demand that you interact with gamers in such a way as to properly execute a plan rather than everyone simply going at it alone, lone-wolf style. I've played my fair share of both Call of Duty and Battlefield and neither of those two triple-A giants require you to communicate with your teammates as much as NS2. If the new gaming era is going to strip us of local multiplayer and let us only play with strangers online, then they better give us a reason to want to talk to these people, and NS2 does just that by making the alternative to cooperation abject failure.

The reason that cooperation is so essential in NS2 is because of its unique gameplay featuring 2 asymmetrical sides, the aliens vs. humans, and furthermore one player on each side must be chosen as your Commander/Hive mind, who will view the entire map from above and play the RTS portion of the game building, giving orders, and researching upgrades. The twist of course being that apart from a few builder units the Commander/Hive mind has no forces under his direct control but only the other players on his team who benefit most from executing his orders. Again, cooperation is paramount and having seen the difference between a skilled commander and bumbling one you really get to understand just how effective or ineffective you can be as a player or a leader.

As for the gameplay as a soldier on the ground, the games generally proceed as follows. You will run out of your initial base to go seize the nearest resource point with your teammates and if you manage to control it without the enemy showing up then you will continue on to the next one. However, due to the impressive array of maps and the units/upgrades available to the different sides, you can never truly be sure just how easy or hard an objective given to you by your commander will be.

Let us discuss some of the key differences between the sides at this point. The human marines are standard enough beginning the game with an assault rifle, pistol and trusty little hand axe. Throughout the game their commander will be attempting to accrue enough resources to get them upgrades such as shotguns, flamethrowers, jetpacks, better shielding, damage upgrades, and eventually mech suits. While all of these things seem like surefire upgrades from the starter equipment the truth is any of it is only as useful as the player who wields it.

The aliens on the other hand begin the game as the base unit known as the skulk, an equivalent of a zergling more or less which can only effectively attack via melee. They however, are naturally much faster at moving about and can make use of the maps numerous vents which marines cannot enter. These skulks can then evolve throughout the game into other creatures ranging from the builder/medic class of the Gorge, the swift flying Lerk, the deadly Fade and the almighty Onos. Each of these creatures has its own unique strengths, weaknesses and special abilities and knowing when to use each one is critical in being a good alien player.

Returning to the gameplay itself, there are some caveats to be given to new players. This game is rather unforgiving and those who are not any good at shooters on the PC will not find any user-friendly playground here. Though there are beginner level servers they are often such only in name and host just as many veteran players as any other server. Gameplay is rather fast and frenetic and you may often find yourself saying things like "How didn't I hit that guy!?" or "4 of us ambushed him! How did he kill us all!?!" And unfortunately if there is one thing to be said about this game is that the learning curve is about as steep as the Hoover dam.

That is not to say that the community for the game isn't great, because since servers and players can sometimes be limited, dedicated gamers will do their best to teach newbies the ropes every chance they get. Yet despite the helpful tutors you'll run across you can't help but feel that the majority of people you are playing with in this game have simply come over from the Counterstrike community and have years of practice and experience over you. That being said, if you happen to be a CS gamer, this is your bag and you will feel right at home.

The truth is however, that despite sometimes going all game without even a kill, I could still make a difference in the match through my targeting of key objectives or even posing as a distraction for my teammates who could actually effectively hit a moving target. This is what makes NS2 so brilliant, that even if you aren't your teams Rambo who CAN take on 4 aliens at once, there is always something that you can do to make yourself useful, and if you really must learn how to be a Rambo then simply practice, practice, practice, and eventually you may get... your first kill. All jokes aside, there is such a vast gap between some players in the NS2 community and while the game may not be as accessible to newcomers as I would like, it generally tends to balance out throughout games.

Overall NS2 is a real treasure for all gamers and tells the success story of an ambitious group of modders who managed to create a revolutionary game that I believe has not gotten the attention it deserves. If more studios focused on innovation rather than repackaging and retheming then we would have more games with the spirit and uniqueness of NS2. The FPS/RTS is still a largely underused genre and yet probably my favorite, and while NS2 may have a steep learning curve which may prevent it from being my go-to just because I don't have the time to dedicate to mastering it, it is still an unforgettable and incomparable gaming experience from which larger studios should learn from.

+ playtime around 50 hours+ a lot of variety at the alien classes+ research objects

Team! Those who ignore the team game in multiplayer shooter Natural Selection 2, should prefer the defrosting refrigerator or garden dig. Whatever, he certainly should do something else than play Natural Selection 2.

Goal is to bashing the base of the opposing team into the ground. To prevent this from happening (or depending on the viewing angle just yet), both teams have to worry about conquests of territory, where about raw materials are mined.The flow as points on the team account that the - certainly in a metal box (Marines) or a goo knubbel (Aliens) sedentary - Commander example retrieves research. The then supply stationary guns (Sentry Guns) better equipment for the Marines as well as higher levels of evolution for the aliens. Thus, the Commander, without losing the overview, it perceives the events from the typical strategy view, so it looks from above on a map.

Are better creaking and alien critters times explored, they face the customization of players earned points available for purchase. But beware: if you die, starts in the base again with the pea rifle or a baby alien, all the expensive upgrades are gone and will again be earned. With this simple trick to the action remains fair and no team can develop in no time the Super team against which nothing more is to be aligned.

What I can not recommend this highly enough about this game is the conscious design on consistent cooperation: Team Commander and all together against your opponent and not somewhere alone with the shotgun in the dark. For since lurk the aliens - who play very differently. A wonderful variety in other multiplayer offering in which we are all somehow always play the same soldiers noses. Overall, Evolutionary shooter that creates an involving, sometimes terrifying, tactical battle between two distinct races. Brilliant.

Score: 81 / 100

gamestar.de

Sorry for my bad english.Thanks for reading! If you Like my Review, give me a Thumbs up in Steam.Your help is greatly appreciated :)

I love this game. The action is fast paced but requries thought (tactically and strategically). You don't just run in guns blazing, but you need to work with your teammates. It's a perfect mix of FPS and RTS. Biting marines as a skulk is fun too.

Some say this game has a high learning curve. Maybe it does, but I don't think so. You work with your team, collect resources, and then you and your team can afford to buy upgrades -- oh yeah, and kill the other team while trying to prevent them from collecting resources and upgrading. Is that hard? Try the tutorials. Start on newbie-friendly servers. USE A MIC and ask for direction. It's a relatively small community and most players are very willing to help people who are looking to learn.

I'm a hard fan to please. I want a game thats easy to learn but hard to master. Natural Selection 2 (NS2) is just that, a perfect blend of both RTS and FPS. It can satisfy the most demanding fast twitch high intensity gamers or the casual pubbers looking to watch / help those battling it out for map control. Typical days I find myself jumping on to a server for 20 minutes, before dinner, or spending 2 hours helping to keep a server alive, with action, until midnight. Regardless if your a rookie or expert NS2 has a place for you, find out what your missing!

A very challenging game that mixes RTS and FPS into one (pretty good) multiplayer game. One player is the commander, who places buildings and drops supplies for his units, who are the other players. This game is very hard, so I would be ready to lose.

Also, this game is very CPU instensive, so it will not perform well (or at all) on older PCs.

This is one of the most overlooked games I've ever played. Natural Selection 2 is a ton of fun for hours on end and one of the most addicting multiplayer games I've ever played. NS2 is a breath of fresh air in a genre that is otherwise polluted by generic shooters like "Call of Duty".

Suggestions:It is a real time strategy and first person shooter. If you don't like the RTS part you don't have to command your team, just ask someone else too. Make sure you listen to your commander if he even talks. This game is very fun when you get to learn it. The biggest problem for me was it has a pretty steep learning curve. You will join a server (hopefully it will be a rookie friendly server) and have NO IDEA what to do, maybe even after you played the tutorial. It took some time learning. If you can find a siege mode server you should try that. The flow of the game play will be more repetitive instead of people trying to do different strategies you don't understand. You will die alot. Your best bet would be to play as a supporting player and watching what other people do. Grab yourself a welder as a marine or follow people around as a gorge. You will be killed by a skulk almost EVERYTIME before you finally manage to get lucky or see them before they see you. Yet when you play as a skulk you will probably get killed EVERYTIME until you at least get a few hours in. The game could change in a heartbeat if you have a good commander on either team. What I like to do? Xenocide alot If you get an exosuit stay back and blast the alien scum from a distance, Don't be a heroDon't do things alone When someone wants to rush in or your commander says so make sure everyone is there before you doDon't ignore your resource nodesFor the love of god don't hop in the com chair when you don't know what you are doing. You will be burned aliveIf people want to be jerks to you just ignore them or go someplace elseJoin a rookie friendly server.Make friends with the mods and adminsDon't say I don't know what to do (say what it is you need help with instead)

A mix between regular FPS gameplay and RTS gameplay, this game balances both for some of the most intense fights I've ever experienced - most notably a battle of attrition between my friend and another which lasted just over an hour resulting in our human victory!

Natural Selction 2 is a real standout in the FPS-Genre. The two factions play very differently from one another without feeling imbalanced (even though you will meet some players who say differently). Though there is a rather high learning curve, Natural Selection 2 is worth the frustration and failure you may experience at the beginning. Just visit the "Rookie friendly servers" and you will find many players who are willing to help you and explain certain mechanics that will lead to victory for you and your teammates. To me Natural Selection 2 isn’t great only because it’s very different from all the other FPS's out there, but because it does asymmetrical multiplayer so damn well, offering up a variety of experiences in one small game.

+ Very well-designed blending of FPS and RTS elements+ Plenty of rookie-friendly servers available+ Both factions are very, very different with few similarities+ Fantastic visuals+ Many available server mods that help break up the monotony and spice up your games+ Friendly community+ Fairly comprehensive tutorial (highly recommended)+ Commanders integrate well with teams and can be the deciding factor in a given match+ Teamwork is heavily, heavily encouraged by the game mechanics

This game is definitely worth it and its usually on sale. There are 2 playable factions -humans and aliens and each have their own special units and abilities. The amazing thing about this game is that its very teamwork intensive. Each team gets 1 commander who pretty much gets an overhead view of the battlefield and instructs teammates on what to do/build. The game is pretty easy for humans but for aliens its a big learning curve. If you do get the game do not play commander without reading a guide/tutorial because it can be extremely difficult. The combat is very fun and you can do all types of strategies and builds each game, such as fast expand for aliens to get xenomorph or human fast expand with warp gate tech or harassing human extractors with skulks with aliens which is one of the best ways to get yourself back into the game as aliens.

A great competitive FPS, unfortunately ruined due to in my opinion launching too early. Of course it 'had to be launched for financial reasons' and I love the developers but I really wish they had an extra few years to flesh it out and then do the release. The main issues being performance, lack of in-depth or interactive tutorial, and a real way to have a form of player made matching which is for sure the new standard in all forms of video games, especially competitive video games.

A lot of the negative reviews and feedback came from the games launch and thus I think really hurt the playerbase, and new potential players. The game didn't really come with an in-depth tutorial for this generations of 'everything in front of me, learn nothing' demographic of gamers. These new gamers also do not like to be demolished by veterans and learn from their mistakes, instead they blame things on cheats or simply complain and then remove the game from their library's and continue back with something more casual.

The developers were very active in the forum and with updating even to this date. The community is great and really keeps the game alive and thriving. In its current state I for sure recommend you try it out if you like competitive fps what so ever. But don't always expect to find a server with your preferences as there isn't too many running. Especially if you like small player counts and not an excess of mods.

As for the developers they continually work on other projects and I recommend you follow them and their products if you value your pc games. They keep a great community and really take into account player feedback.. it's pretty much your duty as a gamer to support developers such as this to keep the pc community thriving.. or else you'll end up with some multi-million dollar recycle every year that your three year old brother could play on a high level.

I love this game, its community as I said before, and the developers. I give it a solid 9 out of 10.

So yeah. Very good game. It combines RTS with FPS so you can play however you like (although you got to get to the commandstation/hive first if you want the RTS feel.

RTS: set battleplans, give orders, and manage the players on the field. Making poor choices can screw you up but if you are a good commander your sure to win the game. (Victory cannot be achived by FPS alone.)

FPS: Get upgrades, build, fortify, and all-out kick some alien/marine ♥♥♥! Tons of weapons/classes you can select and staying with the group is always the best option in this game.

What learning curve its a cliff of pain and destruction. I love it in all ways possibe.This game is something that is just great theres no other way to put it.Teamwork is a nessicity.Dont be a hero.ever.

The twitchy gun play is off putting at first in NS2, but you soon get used to it. This game is very team based, and it's the best feeling when your team finally just clicks. Sadly though, a bad team can ruin the game play experience completely. One player is given the role as 'commander', this play will play the game in an RTS view, giving out orders, building structures etc, the rest of the team will play in FPS mode.

There is plenty of different weapons for the Marines, where as the Aliens transform into different creatures, ranging from a scuttling little dog like alien, to a giant rhino beast.

The levels are perfect arena, the lighting and ambient effects make it feel even more realistic. The top notch graphics and a really good engine, Spark.

Load times are absolutely terrible. Logging into a server took me five minutes each time. This is reported across the board. Apart from this, I had no technical problems. Zero lag in game, which is must given the twitchy gun-play mechanics.

I really enjoyed this game, but one that has to be played on mic and with a team of people you know.